Bill Clinton, the reverse Clint Eastwood?

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Watch Bill Clinton's full DNC speech

Story highlights

David Rothkopf: Bill Clinton dazzled reverent audience that had eagerly awaited him

He says Obama must have wondered whether he'll seem second best in his speech

He says Clinton holds sacred place in Democratic politics, rivalling FDR in his sway

Rothkopf: Tonight Obama must step out from Clinton shadow and determine his future

As Bill Clinton walked out onto the stage of the Democratic National Convention last night, there was love in the air. Television cameras scanned the faces in the crowd and it was as if each man and each woman, regardless of their ages or where they came from, was seeing again the person who first stole their hearts. But however deep their affections, however dizzying their passion, it was clear that it was at least equaled by the love of the speaker for the crowd he faced, for the role he was playing and for the limelight he once again commanded.

Throughout Clinton's 49-minute address, at turns both masterful and meandering, the intensity of the love affair grew. At times, it was almost too much to watch. One woman on whom the cameras lingered for a moment was so close to a swoon that I thought she would topple over at any minute and that, in any event, she would never again look at her husband or lover again in the same away. They would always be second best.

It was in that moment easy to imagine that on some level, off-stage, watching, Barack Obama was wondering whether he too would suffer a similar fate.

To be sure, as he strode out to congratulate Clinton after the speech, Obama and his team and his fervent supporters filling the arena in Charlotte were likely thrilled by the job the 42nd president had done in supporting the cause of the 44th.

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Begala: Clinton substantive and riveting

But, as David Gergen said on CNN shortly after the speech, "Clinton told the Obama story better than Obama has." That is saying something, of course: Obama is a gifted speaker. Sometimes, he even soars. But as he himself noted recently when asked about his weaknesses during his first term, he has failed to effectively communicate why people should support his policies at critical moments.

Recognizing this is no doubt why Obama, who was disinclined to consult with Clinton early in his presidency as much as the former president would have liked, turned to Clinton to play such a central role in this convention and in his re-election campaign. But there was a risk. He would pay a price. He would violate one of the first rules of show business: The closer on stage you stand to a taller actor, the shorter you look.

With his speech last night, as with his post-presidency, his successes at the Clinton Global Initiative, the ascendancy of his wife as a senator and then as an exceptionally effective secretary of state, and the position he holds with her today, high atop the polls as the most popular leading politicians in the Democratic Party, Clinton has earned consideration as the most dominant American political figure of the past two decades. Warts and all, he is to his generation as Franklin Roosevelt was to his.

Best of the DNC – U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts waves to the crowd Wednesday. A consumer advocate, she complained that people today "feel like the system is rigged against them."

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Best of the DNC – U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland speaks on day two of the DNC.

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Best of the DNC – Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel claps while listening to Wednesday's speeches. He spoke Tuesday night.

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Best of the DNC – Cuban-American actress and talk show host Cristina Saralegui endorses President Barack Obama on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards walks off stage after her speech Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Delegates cheer during Wednesday's program.

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Best of the DNC – Audience members wave signs Wednesday in support of the American auto industry.

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Best of the DNC – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – U.S. Rep. Karen Bass of California speaks before delegates on Wednesday night.

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Best of the DNC – U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speaks on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – A guard stands by as former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt speaks on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – A choir performs on stage during the DNC on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Two men in vests hold a pile of American flags on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – People pose during the official convention photography during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – A tri-colored hat sporting the Democratic party's mascot sits on a chair on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Sikh supporters hold up a sign on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – A woman reacts as Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, speaks on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, speaks to delegates on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas leads the Pledge of Allegiance as the West Charlotte High School ROTC presents the colors on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Delegate Gloria Goodwin wears earrings depicting President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Ruby Gilliam of Ohio salutes the flag on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas waves after leading the Pledge of Allegiance on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – Priscilla Marquez and Evie Walls from Arizona pose in the Google photo booth on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – A police officer stands near golf carts outside the Time Warner Cable Arena on Wednesday.

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Best of the DNC – First lady Michelle Obama wraps up day one of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, September 4.

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Best of the DNC – A sea of signs welcomes the first lady onto the stage Tuesday at the Time Warner Cable Arena.

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Best of the DNC – Delegates listen to Michelle Obama's speech Tuesday. The first lady offered a personal perspective on why her husband should be re-elected.

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Best of the DNC – Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro and his brother, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, wave to the audience Tuesday.

Best of the DNC – People hold signs Tuesday that read "Forward" and "Not Back."

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Best of the DNC – Actor-producer Kal Penn speaks on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – People listen to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Rahm Emanuel, who served as President Barack Obama's first chief of staff, addresses the crowd Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius walks onstage Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland takes the podium on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Robert Rios from the Virgin Islands waves a state flag on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Stacey Lihn of Arizona speaks on Tuesday as her husband, Caleb, holds her crying daughter, Emmy, and other daughter, Zoe Madison.

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Best of the DNC – A detail of the prosthetic legs of Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran who is running for the U.S. House from Illinois, is shown at the podium on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – President of NARAL Pro-Choice America Nancy Keenan speaks on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Audience members wave American flags Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Maria Ciano, who grew up a conservative Republican, addresses the DNC crowd Tuesday

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Best of the DNC – Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy holds his child as he speaks to the media Tuesday. He is a son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.

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Best of the DNC – U.S. House candidate Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts takes the stage Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Joe Kennedy III speaks Tuesday during the Democratic National Convention.

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Best of the DNC – A video tribute to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy is displayed Tuesday in Charlotte.

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Best of the DNC – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks onstage with other female members of Congress on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Pelosi and other female members of Congress applaud on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar sports a cowboy hat while taking the stage Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada speaks to an applauding crowd on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – DNC delegates cheer during Tuesday's program.

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Best of the DNC – Former President Jimmy Carter addresses the convention in a videotaped message.

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Best of the DNC – Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine speaks to the convention.

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Best of the DNC – A man from the Texas delegation stands under a campaign sign.

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Best of the DNC – A baby sleeps during Tuesday's speeches.

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Best of the DNC – North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue welcomes the convention to her state.

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Best of the DNC – The Rev. Jesse Jackson attends the convention.

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Best of the DNC – Newark Mayor Cory Booker points to the crowd during his speech on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – A woman cheers during Tuesday's program.

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Best of the DNC – Security personnel looks out at the crowd as U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer speaks on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Hoyer gives a thumbs up.

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Best of the DNC – U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chairperson, opens Tuesday's program.

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Best of the DNC – The third-grade class from W.R. O'Dell Elementary School in Concord, North Carolina, recites the Pledge of Allegiance.

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Best of the DNC – Dr. Lorrie Rickman Jones of Chicago cries as she watches Tuesday's speakers.

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Best of the DNC – Law enforcement officers prepare to face off with protesters during a march outside the Charlotte Convention Center on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – People in the Wisconsin delegation area sit in front of a digital image of the Lincoln Memorial hours before the start of the convention on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – Newark Mayor Cory Booker, left, laughs with stage manager David Cove during a walk-through on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – A worker checks the stage hours before the start of the convention on Tuesday.

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Best of the DNC – First lady Michelle Obama is interviewed before the start of the convention on Monday, September 3.

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Best of the DNC – Michelle Obama and actor and former Obama administration aide Kal Penn bump fists after a rehearsal for her speech on Monday.

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Best of the DNC – A man prays during a public prayer service at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Sunday, September 2, ahead of the convention.

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EXPAND GALLERY

For a man as proud as Obama, this must be galling. Sure, the president is no doubt grateful for the brilliance with which Clinton defended his policies, the deftness with which he sliced up Mitt Romney with a razor made of finely honed, carefully forged praise for his Republican predecessors. Obama, like everyone else watching, must have been particularly struck by how Clinton could speak of the same issues that divide average pols and make them ennobling. "We're all in this together is a far better philosophy than you're on your own," was effective. But in the current era, his "Democracy does not have to be a blood sport. It can be an honorable enterprise that advances the public interest" was both timely and transcendent. Part rhetoric. Part prayer.

On some level, Barack Obama must have wondered, "have I unleashed the reverse Clint Eastwood? A guy who will upstage me not with ill-conceived clownishness but with genius?" But eventually, after running on for even longer than his 1988 convention address, one almost universally panned for its verbosity, Clinton's speech came to a close. And when Obama walked out to embrace him and then usher him off into the wings, the younger man set the stage for perhaps his last chance to change the Clinton-centric narrative that has been Democratic politics since 1992.

Tonight in his address to the delegates in Charlotte and to viewers across America, Obama will have a chance to step up and truly become Bill Clinton's successor, rather than a supporting player living in his era, in his shadow. Clinton's speech was superb even served as it was without portion control. But it did not do what only Obama can do. It did not offer the current president's vision for the future. It did not offer new solutions to the new problems we face as a country. Clinton may have forcefully said we're better off now than we were four years ago, but Obama can and must say how we will be better off four years hence and how that will better position America for future growth beyond that.

Clinton didn't do that and as an ex-president, he couldn't. (And mimicking Clinton-era policies won't work because many of them are outdated and frankly some, like financial deregulation, proved wrongheaded.) Romney has not done it either, his convention speech offering few ideas, no new ones and no specifics.

The country is at a watershed moment. It has only one president at a time and that man right now is Barack Obama. Starting with tonight's speech and continuing through this campaign and into a next term if he has one, by dint of creativity and vision or lack thereof, Obama will demonstrate whether he is a new force, not a secondary player, in modern history.

Bill Clinton's speech reminded us of his place in history. Barack Obama's will help determine his.